EP2366612A1

EP2366612A1 - Headlamp for two-wheel vehicles

Info

Publication number: EP2366612A1
Application number: EP11156140A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Luigi Delfi
Original assignee: Ecie Electric Components and Instruments Europe Srl
Current assignee: Ecie Electric Components and Instruments Europe Srl
Priority date: 2010-03-02
Filing date: 2011-02-28
Publication date: 2011-09-21
Anticipated expiration: 2031-02-28
Also published as: ITMI20100336A1; IT1398639B1; EP2366612B1

Abstract

Headlamp for two-wheel vehicles, comprising a first light source (10) of the LED type associated with a respective first reflector (11) able to reflect light rays in a first emission zone (1a); a second light source (20) of the LED type associated with a respective second reflector (21) able to deviate the rays of the second light source towards a second emission zone (1b), a hybrid lens (30) comprising an aspherical part (30a) and a flat part (30b), which are respectively arranged in front of said first emission zone (1a) and second emission zone (1b), and means (50) for controlling the emission of the light sources (10,20), wherein when the handlamp is mounted on the vehicle said aspherical part (30a) is arranged below the flat part second lens (30b) in the vertical direction (z-z) of the vehicle and said second light source (20), second reflector (21) and flat part (30b) are arranged in the volume of the headlamp in front of the first reflector (11) in the longitudinal direction (x-x) of the vehicle and above the aspherical part (30a) in the vertical direction (z-z) of the vehicle.

Description

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a multifunctional LED headlamp for two-wheel vehicles.
It is known in the technical sector of motorcycles that there exists the need to equip them with a front light source - so-called headlamp - which is able to provide different types of illumination depending on the different daytime or night-time requirements and/or the different environmental conditions resulting from the presence of clouds, fog, tunnels and the like.
It is likewise known that there exist for this purpose headlamps of various kinds having a reflective body provided internally with light source(s) able to emit light of the dipped beam, full beam, DRL (daytime running lamp) and directional indicator and/or sidelight type, the light rays of which strike the reflective surface at various angles and are reflected in a given direction which may or may not be parallel to the optical axis of the headlamp.
Also known among the headlamps available in the art are those in which the light source consists of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) which allow sufficiently powerful light to be produced without the substantial need for maintenance since they are not subject to wear like filament lamps.
Although performing their function, these LED headlamps nevertheless have the drawback that they are unable to provide different light combinations such as dipped beam / full beam or dipped beam / sidelights or the like, while maintaining small dimensions as required in most applications particularly in the case of two-wheel vehicles. Examples of the prior art in relation to the preamble of Claim 1 are for example known from EP 2, 039, 992 and US 2009/0290372 in which in order to obtain the two different types of illumination it was required to double the dimensions of the headlamp either in the vertical direction or in the horizontal direction in accordance with the layouts illustrated.
The technical problem which is posed, therefore, is to provide an LED lighting device for two-wheel vehicles able to provide different types of constant-output illumination, which has small dimensions, is easy and inexpensive to produce and assemble and can be easily installed also on already existing motorcycles without the need for special adaptation.
In connection with this problem it is also required that the headlamp should allow effective dissipation of heat externally without the need for additional means.
These results are achieved according to the present invention by a lighting device comprising at least one lighting source of the LED type and at least one surface reflecting the rays emitted by the light source according to the characteristic features of Claim 1.
Further details may be obtained from the following description of a non-limiting example of embodiment of the subject of the present invention provided with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1:: shows a front view of the headlamp according to the present invention;
Figure 2:: shows a side view of the headlamp according to Fig. 1; and
Figure 3:: shows a cross-section along the plane indicated by the line III-III in Fig. 1.

As shown in Fig. 1 and assuming solely for the sake of convenience of the description a set of three axes in the longitudinal direction X-X, parallel to the direction of the light rays emitted by the headlamp, transverse direction Y-Y, perpendicular to the preceding direction, and vertical direction Z-Z, respectively, the headlamp according to the invention comprises essentially a containing body 1 provided internally with the following:

at least one first light source 10 of the LED type associated with a respective reflector 11 which captures the rays, reflecting them towards a first bottom emission zone 1a; preferably, in accordance with the layouts shown in the figures, the reflector 11 has a concavity directed downwards;
a first hybrid lens 30a of the aspherical type, associated with the first light source 10 and arranged, in accordance with the layouts shown for the example described, in a bottom position with respect to the plane of emission of the headlamp;
at least one second light source 20 of the LED type associated with a respective second converging reflector 21 which captures the rays emitted by the source 20, reflecting them towards a second top emission zone 1b; preferably, in accordance with the layouts shown in the figures, the reflector 21 has a concavity directed upwards;
a second flat lens 30b, associated with the second light source 20 and arranged, in accordance with the layouts shown for the example described, in a top position with respect to the first lens 30a.

Conveniently, the two lens 30a and 30b may be formed as one body 30 with the two constructional forms - aspherical and flat - such that during use the former is situated underneath the latter.
As shown, it is envisaged, according to the invention, that the second light source 20, the second aspherical reflector 21 and the second lens 30b are arranged in the volume of the headlamp in front of the first reflector 11 in the longitudinal direction X-X and above the first lens 30a in the vertical direction Z-Z, so as to allow recovery of the volume of the headlamp entirely occupied in the prior art by the first light source alone with associated reflector and lens.
According to a preferred embodiment it is also envisaged that a screen 14 for intercepting the light beam for the dipped-beam function is arranged in front of the first light source 10.
It is envisaged moreover that the LEDs are associated with control means 50 - only schematically shown in Fig. 3 - suitable for performing selective activation of the LEDs so as to produce light emission conditions for example of the dipped beam or full beam type, if the device is configured for operation as a vehicle headlamp.
It is envisaged moreover that the rear part of the body 1 is provided with a first dissipator 61 in contact with the first light source 10 and directly connected to the outside and the top part of the body 1 of the headlamp is provided with a second dissipator 62, in contact with the second light source 20 and directly connected to the outside; in this way cooling of the headlamp may be performed without the need for additional motorized devices which require an increase in the dimensions of the headlamp and electric power with a consequent increase in components and costs.
It is therefore clear how with the headlamp according to the invention it is possible to obtain all the advantages arising from the use of at least two different light sources of the LED type, in order to achieve different light emission combinations by means of simple control of the power supply of the LEDs, while ensuring particularly small overall dimensions of the headlamp itself, said factor being particularly relevant in the case of applications involving two-wheel vehicles where there is a lack of bodywork space for an increase in size of said headlamps.

Claims

Headlamp for two-wheel vehicles, comprising at least one first light source (10) of the LED type associated with a respective first reflector (11) able to emit light rays in a first emission zone (1a), at least one second light source (20) of the LED type associated with a respective second converging reflector (21) able to deviate the rays of the second light source towards a second emission zone (1b), there being provided a hybrid lens (30) comprising an aspherical part (30a) and a flat part (30b), which are respectively arranged in front of said first emission zone and second emission zone, and means (50) for controlling the emission of the two light sources (10,20), characterized in that said first aspherical lens (30a) is arranged below the second lens (30b) in the vertical direction Z-Z and in that said second light source (20), second spherical reflector (21) and second lens (30b) are arranged in the volume of the headlamp in front of the first reflector (11) in the longitudinal direction (X-X) and above the first lens (30a) in the vertical direction Z-Z.
Headlamp according to Claim 1, characterized in that said first reflector (11) has a concavity directed downwards.
Headlamp according to Claim 1, characterized in that said second reflector (21) has a concavity directed upwards.
Headlamp according to Claim 1, characterized in that said first lens (30a) and second lens (30b) are formed as one body (30).
Headlamp according to Claim 1, characterized in that a first dissipator (61) is arranged at the rear of the body (1), in contact with the first light source (10) and directly connected to the outside.
Headlamp according to Claim 5, characterized in that said first dissipator (61) is incorporated in the first reflector (11).
Headlamp according to Claim 1, characterized in that a second dissipator (62) is arranged at the top of the body (1), in contact with the second light source (20) and directly connected to the outside.
Headlamp according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a screen (14) for intercepting the light beam, arranged in front of the first light source (10) .